2017 has been an exciting year for Stephen King adaptations, with two movies on the big screen, a couple of TV adaptations, and an anthology series in the works. Some of the projects were bigger hits than others, but we can officially count Audience's adaptation of Mr. Mercedes as one of the successes. The show has officially scored a renewal order and will return for Season 2 next year.
The second season of Mr. Mercedes will consist of 10 hour-long episodes, which matches the length of the first season. We can expect the new episodes to premiere at some point in 2018, although an official date has not yet been announced. David E. Kelley of Big Little Lies and Ally McBeal will return to write scripts for the next batch of episodes, and Jack Bender of Lost and Under the Dome will be back as director. Kelley and Bender serve as executive producers on the series, along with Stephen King himself and Dennis Lehane, who will also contribute as a writer.
Season 2 of Mr. Mercedes will continue to be based on the Bill Hodges Trilogy of novels penned by Stephen King. The first was Mr. Mercedes, with Finders Keeps and End of Watch to follow. Season 1 hasn't followed the events of the Mr. Mercedes book to the letter, so we can't say how faithful Season 2 will or will not be to Finders Keepers. Still, news of the renewal should make the Season 1 finale feel a lot less final.
Of course, the Season 1 finale hasn't yet aired, so we don't know which characters will even be able to return for Season 2. There could very well be some big deaths in the final episode of the season, although the odds are pretty good that Bill Hodges will still be around for the rest of his trilogy. We can count on Brendan Gleeson probably reprising his role for Season 2; we can't be too sure about any of the others. Even readers who know the book cover to cover don't know whose fates will be different in the show. Who can say what's to come in Season 2? Maybe Stephen King could make another cameo, even if it would have to be as a new character given what happened in his first cameo.
Production for Mr. Mercedes Season 2 is slated to being in February, with filming taking place in Charleston, South Carolina. All things considered, the renewal for Season 2 isn't too surprising. Mr. Mercedes raised the profile of Audience, as the Stephen King adaptation created enough buzz that even folks who had never heard of Audience suddenly had a big reason to look into the network. The Bill Hodges trilogy was popular with readers, and Stephen King adaptations are often very good when done right. Mr. Mercedes was a big show for Audience. and it seems that the show has done well.
Tune in to Audience on Wednesday, October 11 at 8 p.m. ET to catch the Season 1 finale of Mr. Mercedes. For what you can watch once the season has come to an end, our TV guide can help you decide.
